The 2023 Siege of New York City
by Sir Traveler
Summary: In 2023, World War III has taken a turn for the worst for the JSF. Russian Forces have completly destroyed the European Federation and now they've set their sights on America. Their first target: New York City.
1. World War III So Far

In early 2020, the European Federation (EF) Missile Defense Shield mistakenly identifies an American space craft on route to the space station "Freedom Star" as an enemy missile. The Defense Shield destroys the space craft, killing the platoon of Marines meant to be station on the "Freedom Star." Angered, the United States declares war on the EF claiming the accident was really a criminal conspiracy to foil the American "Freedom Star" program. The EF denied all of America's claims and is forced to fight back when the Joint Strike Force (JSF) invades Europe. Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, the Russian government also declares war on the EF, their invading forces headed by the Spetsnaz Guard (SG). In late 2020, America also declares war on the Russians, claiming their forces, especially the SG, have committed too many war crimes to go unnoticed.

For a year the war continues with no side having a clear advantage. However in late 2021, the SG launch an all out attack on EF, under the code-name "Операция Гром Медведь" (Operation Thunder Bear). By Mid-2022, the EF is has been completely destroyed. Distressed by the Russians amazing takeover of Europe, the JSF launches their own all out attack, under the codename "Operation Door Buster." The JSF attack in force all along the western European coast in a D-Day like assault. The operation fails horribly and over 40% of the JSF forces are killed, missing, or taken prisoner. Weakened, the JSF retreat back to America and prepare for what is an almost certain Russian counterattack. Expecting an attack on the strategically important city of Washington D.C., most JSF forces are deployed there.

For almost half a year the Russians do not attack and JSF commanders relax, believing the Russian forces were too weakened by pervious battles to attempt a true counter attack. However on January 14, 2023, the Russians instigate "Операция обуздать стомп" (Operation Curb Stomp). This attack focused all of the Russian Forces into a naval invasion of New York City. At the time only one regiment was stationed there, the 23rd mechanized. Fearful this attack is only a diversion, only one other regiment, the 9th Airborne, are rerouted to assist the 23rd.


	2. God, Ogres are ugly!

1st Lt. Max Traveler had never really liked the T-100 Ogre, the Spetsnaz main battle tank. To him it had always been an ugly tin can on tracks since he had first since it on T.V. during a newscast of the Russian war with Kazakhstan in late 2018. In 2020, when he had been at the forefront of the JSF's invasion force into Northern Russia, he saw an Ogre up close for the first time and it was even uglier than he had remembered seeing in the news pictures. And now, in 2023, on American soil, it almost hurt to look at the one that was spinning its turret at his Pioneer platoon.

"Cover! Cover!" Traveler screamed as he jumped behind a burn-out hunk of what was probably an SUV. An enormous bang told the Lieutenant that the ugly tank had fired and an explosion followed by screams confirmed it had hit some of his men.

Still staying behind cover he looked around at the rest of his platoon. The majority of them were hiding behind the most solid piece of cover they could find; the others were either dead or dying. One of his troopers, who was actually a woman, (President Becerra had abolished all combat restrictions on women in 2022, after the Russians had captured all of Europe) had an AT5CQ rocket already shouldered and aimed at the tank. Sgt. Rachel Alonzo had always been the best shot with the rockets so she had been assigned to carry most of the platoon's supply of the AT5CQ's.

"Lock!" Alonzo yelled, signaling for the rest of the platoon to get as low in their cover as possible. Nearly the entire platoon had seen firsthand the incredible size of an Ogre death blast. A second later she fired and ducked herself, throwing the empty rocket tube aside. Traveler couldn't help watching the rocket as it soared, first upwards, just grazing the sides of some New York City's skyscrapers, and then dropping straight down in a top-attack mode. The rocket just missed the middle of the Ogre's turret, but rather hit more to the rear where the engine and, more importantly, the ammo compartment were.

The following blast was, as expected, gigantic. As Traveler quickly ducked his head, he could feel the heat of the explosion on the back of his neck. Slowly the burn sensation decreased and Traveler looked up to scan the street for any more hostiles. Breathing hard, it took him a bit before he was satisfied that the Russian's was fully out of action. Standing up, he inspected what was the rest of his platoon. He caught Sgt. Alonzo's eye and said "Nice shot, Rachel."

She smiled and in her native Spanish said "_No puede ser más fácil!_"

Traveler shook his head and said "You do realize that no one else in the _entire_ company speaks Spanish, right?"

She laughed and said "_Claro, claro. _Anyways Lieutenant, what now?"

"For now, we hold out till command calls us back in. Have your squad repair our defensive positions as best they can. Tell Sgt. Rigg to have some of his squad help yours out."

Alonzo pulled a quick salute with a sharp "Yes, sir!" and went off to complete her orders.

Traveler sighed and leaned against the SUV he had used as cover. He pulled off his helmet and from his breast pocket he grabbed a pack of "Freedom Sticks", the only cigarette brand available in America since its ingredients were all grown or made inside the United States.


	3. Major on Deck

A couple hours later Traveler's CO radioed him and told him to move his platoon back to friendly lines. No other Russians had attacked after their first engagement and everyone was glad to move out before any did. After they reached the main JSF base in Manhattan, Traveler order his platoon to get some rest while he went to the JSF's Operation Command Center, which was really just a couple of C1A5 "Archons". He went to Major Delmar's personal Archon to give his after-action report.

Traveler kept the report short and to the point as the Major liked things. As Traveler talked he couldn't help but look at the tactical map over the Major's shoulder. It was a large over-view picture of New York City and it was filled in with two colors: the blue JSF Forces and the red Russian Invasion Forces. The Russians held Brooklyn and Queens, but their initial advanced had stalled and Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx were still in American hands. All over the Russian side there were scattered blue dots where some buildings were still held by determined Americans. None of the dots were larger than a city block.

After he had finished his report the Major stood up and pushed some buttons by the tactical display. Another small portion on the edge of Queens turned blue in confirmation of Traveler's platoon's hold on the area. The Major then turned to look at Traveler.

"Well Lieutenant," He started, "I must say I'm impressed. Your single platoon was able to destroy an entire Russian armor convoy. If I'm right that's two T-100's, 5 BTR-112's, and at least a company of Spetsnaz Bears. That's a very remarkable kill record for one battle, let alone one platoon."

Traveler nodded and said, "We did have the element of surprise, Sir. The Russians weren't expecting resistance till they reached Manhattan."

"No, but still, very impressive." The Major then leaned back in his chair and studied the Lieutenant silently. Traveler shifted uncomfortably.

"Ah…Sir?" Traveler said, "Am I dismissed?"

"No, Lieutenant, I still need you and your platoon for something." The Major stood up and turned back to the tactical map. "You grew up here, in New York City, correct?"

"Yes sir, in Borough Park."

"That's large Jewish community in Brooklyn, isn't it? I didn't realize you were Jewish, Lieutenant.

"I am Sir, but what does that have to do with this…thing you need me and my platoon to do?"

"Nothing really. I'm more interested in whether or not you are familiar with the layout of Brooklyn?"

Traveler nodded and said, "I know the layout of the entire city pretty well, Sir."

"Good. Look at this Lieutenant." The Major said as he pointed to one of the small blue dots surrounded by a sea of red. "Can you tell me what this location is?"

Traveler studied the map for a bit then said, "Well Sir, I'd say that is just residential housing considering my childhood home is just three blocks from there. What's so important about holding this area, Sir?"

The Major smiled without looking at the Lieutenant. "Well Lieutenant, at that location is-"

"Sir!" yelled a young female officer working one of the command vehicle's computers, "Incoming artillery rounds!"

The Major cursed and quickly began rearranging things around the vehicle to prepare them for movement. All the while he yelled new instructions to Traveler.

"Lieutenant, Tomorrow at 0400 hours, you and your platoon are to report to the observation deck of the Empire State Building! There you will be met by a V-25 Goshawk that will carry you to that location!" The Major pointed to the blue dot he had show Traveler earlier. "You will receive more information on the flight over! Dismissed!"

Traveler threw a quick salute and

jumped out the back of the command vehicle. He hit the ground running. The Major's Command vehicle roared away with the rest of the JSF's mobile base. As Traveler ducked inside the bunker his platoon was occupying, the first wave of shells landed outside.


	4. BoneDrivers, Wolves, and Hamburger Meat

As Traveler sat down on at a far table inside the bunker, he glanced at his watch. By his count, the Russian barrage had continued 10 minutes longer than usual. The enemy commander probably believed the Archons were caught unaware and wanted to be sure they were destroyed. Traveler looked around the cramped bunker and sighed. His Pioneers looked exhausted, but all of them were active. Some were cleaning their SCAR A1 assault rifles while Cpl. Richwood and his spotter Pvt. Jameson were carefully disassembling their M120 50. Caliber Sniper Rifle. Others were painting over their body armor's scratches with the 9th Airborne's traditional colors, Black and Red. A small group of privates had grouped around Sgt. Alonzo as she read from a newspaper she had received two days ago from her family back in Texas.

"-but due to heavy loss from last week's battle of Beijing ," Alonzo recited, "Our Japanese allies have been stopped only 35 miles inland. Whether this delay is temporary or fatal to the invasion of China is yet to be determined but President Becerra is confident that-"

Over in the far corner, Sgt. Riggs was giving a lesson to the new "bone-driver" Pvt. Terry on how to correctly use the APE-1A2, the JSF's own exoskeleton system. Sgt. Riggs used to be a bone-driver too, before a bullet had hit a hydraulic line in his own exoskeleton, causing his system to glitch, forcing his right leg in a 90 degree angle the wrong way. Weaken by that, Sgt. Riggs still walks with a limp, barring him from exoskeleton service for probably the rest of his military career.

Traveler realized the shelling had stopped. Not a normal, slow tampering off that signals the end of most barrages, but a quick, unnerving silence. That could only mean one thing.

"Up! Line Up! Quickly!" Traveler ordered.

All around him, the activity increased tenfold. Rifles were quickly reassembled, Pvt. Terry's exoskeleton purred as he fully activated it and the platoon's four Sergeants lined their squads up next to the door.

Traveler ran to the bunkers thick metal door and looked out through a small glass slit in the middle of it. As he thought, Spetnaz Wolves were taking up positions around the bunker entrance in crumbled out buildings. Sometimes an artillery barrage is simply meant to keep the enemy's head down long enough for the infantry to move in. Hopefully however, these Wolves believed that it was only Archon crews in the bunker, not a fully armed and armored Pioneer platoon.

Traveler turned around to look at his troops.

"Ok, here's the plan." Traveler began, "Sgt. Riggs, your squad is first out the door, guns blazing. I think the guys out there are expecting the Archon's crew, so make sure you give them a shock that'll keep their heads down. Pvt. Terry, keep you minigun spinning the entire time, you hear? Sgt. Alonzo, Sgt. Wilhelm, and Sgt. Connell, after Sgt. Riggs's gets the Russian's heads down, I need your squads to take up defensive positions around Rigg's squad. As soon as we have superior suppressing fire, Connell's squad and Terry will start the mop up with me. Understood?"

"Sir, Yes, Sir!" all of them yelled as Rigg's squad lined up at the door, the other three squads grouping behind on the other side of them.

Traveler stood by the door, his hands on the large handle. He looked at Terry's eyes, wide with fear, excitement, and pure adrenaline.

"You ready?" Traveler asked.

As a "yes" Terry simply revved his minigun up.

"Alright!" Traveler yelled, "1, 2, GO!" and he pulled the handle quickly, pulling the door open.

Terry was out the door, his minigun snarling as it chucked out bullets at an amazing rate. The rest of Riggs squad fanned out behind Terry, adding to the wall of lead being thrown at the Russians. Almost as if acting off the same mind, every green-helmeted Russian ducked. Traveler yelled over the minigun's roar "Ok, let's go!"

The three other squads, including Traveler, rushed out the door in two files. As each Pioneer cleared the bunker, their rifle was raised, firing rapidly. Unlike other JSF bunkers, there was no defensive trench around this bunker's entrance, forcing the platoon to find their own cover. Rigg's squad was firing from a gravel wall around a particularly large artillery crater while the other three squads formed a semi circle around that crater.

Terry was standing at the edge of the crater, firing widely at the building ruins the Russians were taking cover in. A bullet pinged off the side of his ammo bucket on his back. Terry swung around; firing in the general direction the shot had come from.

As Traveler reloaded, he ran up to Connell, yelling to be heard, "Form your squad up with me!"

Connell gave a nod and got his men up as Traveler crouch-ran over to Terry. Traveler tapped Terry's helmet and screamed into Terry's ear "I'll direct, move with me, don't stop shooting!"

Traveler kneeled to fire some more rounds and direct Connell to make a wedge with his squad, Terry at the tip. "Suppressing fire!" Traveler yelled to other squads, as he grabbed Terry's collar and pushed him forward. In little more than 15 seconds they reached the ruins and in only two minutes, even though it seemed like two hours to Traveler, they had cleared out every Wolf hiding among the rumble.

There were no prisoners. Traveler liked to think that if any Russian threw their guns down and hands up, he would take them prisoners, but in reality, in close quarters combat like that, with such a powerful weapon, there wasn't even a chance for a thought of mercy to pass through the Pioneers.

Traveler never realized before how the human body will rip up like raw hamburger meat if hit with a minigun burst at close range. As he reflected on that, his hands shook so much he couldn't light his routine "Survived another Skirmish" cigarette. He had to call Alonzo over to light it for him. She was the only one he really trusted to keep his hand spasms a secret.


	5. The Captain doth complain too much

The Empire State Building was old even when Traveler's grandparents were young. Its architecture and rough stone contrasted heavily with the gleaming steel and glass of the newer, taller skyscrapers built during the boom of the mid 2010's. However, unlike the skyscrapers that surrounded her, the Empire State Building was surprisingly untouched. Almost hidden in the forest of larger buildings, the Russians had yet to harm this symbolic heart of the city. Because of this, the Empire State Building had been quickly converted into Heli-port. Large platforms had been build that stretched from skyscraper to skyscraper, like a giant tree house, all centered around the State Building which served as an air-traffic control center. V-25 Goshawks, V-120 Valkyries, AH-80 Blackfoots, and even some older AH-64 Apaches were scattered around the platforms, most with the red and black color scheme of the 9th Airborne, but some bore the green and brown of the 23rd Mechanized.

Traveler took this all in from the Fowler Corporation Building, one of the taller skyscrapers next to the Empire State Building which served as an anchoring point for the platforms. The Fowler Building was also the Readying Center for all soldiers put onto airborne operations. The Platforms were already overloaded to begin with and no one wanted to test them further by holding platoon of soldiers on them. Only one platoon was ever allowed to load at a time and Traveler's was due to load in ten minutes. His men were all lined up behind him, quiet, watching as the Goshawks that were to carry them into the battlefield were readied. Traveler and his men had been right on time, 0400, but the Goshawks still needed more time to warm-up. Traveler prayed they would be off and on the way before the sun came up.

To Traveler's surprise, his hands were steady. Considering what he had just been told and had been forced to retell to his men, Traveler was surprising calm.

When they had reached the Empire State Building, they were met by a Captain Lombard. The Captain was to brief the Lieutenant on his platoon's mission. Traveler had the rest of the platoon head up to the Readying Center while Captain Lombard took him into a small office on the first floor of the Fowler Building.

"Lieutenant, how much did the Major tell you about your mission?" The Captain said as he closed the office door behind him.

"Not much sir, Russian Rain cut our meeting short."

"Shame. You should have had more time to get your men prepared for this."

Traveler stood a little straighter. "Sir, my men are some of the best Pioneers in the Regiment. You need something defended, we'll hold it."

"I have no doubt of that Lieutenant," The Captain said as he took a seat behind a large desk that seemed to fill up the room. "But that's just it; we're asking for something much different."

"Sir?" Traveler asked, confused by the Captain's statement.

"Lieutenant, what the Regimental command is asking of you and your men is something that, frankly, I find insane."

'Damn it' Traveler thought, 'thanks for the confidence Captain.' But he stayed silent and waited for the Captain to continue.

"If it was up to me, I'd have the entirety of the 9th and 23rd on this mission. But, since Washington has been on the brass' collective asses that they are not to let the Russians take one more step into American territory, they've decided that one platoon ought to be enough." Under his breath the Captain grumbled "And fucking engineers at that…"

"Sir," Traveler said stiffly, "The Pioneers are just as fit as the Ghosts. Whatever you ask of them, you can ask twice of much of us."

The Captain sighed and let the matter go. Pulling out a military computer tablet, he brought up a real-time map of New York City. "Alright Lieutenant, here's the deal. About 10 days ago, we received reports that a Russian V.I.P. would be visiting the battlefield to inspire the men to widen their beachhead."

"Who's the V.I.P.?" Traveler asked.

"Need-to-Know, Lieutenant," The Captain replied, "For the purposes of this mission, you shall know the Russian as Codename Commissar. Anyway, when we heard about the Commissar's visit, we decided to send the bastard a welcoming gift in the form of AP-30 Anti-Air Missiles. Blew the Commissar's bird right out of the sky. Or, at least, so we thought. As it turned out, we only forced it to make a crash landing, which apparently the Commissar survived."

The Captain zoomed the map into a small section of the city, the same part that the Major had shown Traveler. "And, to our luck, it seems that our forces got to the Commissar first, taking the Russian hostage. Right now we have three squads of Ghosts under the command of Lieutenant Callaway hiding out somewhere in this area with the Commissar in tow."

The Lieutenant studied the map. Compared to the city, the section of map the Captain had zoomed in on was tiny, but it was still block after block of claustrophobic houses and alleyways. If they ran into any sizeable force while out there, it would quickly turn into a bloody grinder of urban fighting.

"I'm guessing our mission is to grab the Commissar and Callaway's men and get them back to friendly lines?" The Lieutenant asked.

"The Commissar is your primary objective. If you have to leave behind Callaway to get the Commissar back safely, then do so."

The Lieutenant was taken aback. "Sir, you want me to leave behind-"

"Lieutenant, I want you to do whatever it takes to get the Commissar back to us alive." The Captain snapped. "If that means sacrificing some grunts, then so be it."

The Lieutenant was silent for a bit, considering pushing the point, but decided against it. Orders or not, there was no way he would leave Americans behind enemy lines. "Sir," the Lieutenant said, "Where will the infil and exfil points be?"

The Captain pointed back to his map. "We're going be dropping you right into the middle of that storm Lieutenant. That's your infiltration point. As for the exit plan, you need only to radio us on the regiment's secure channel, and we'll send some birds out. But, be aware, that our birds can only land at a few places in the city. Find a park or parking lot, something wide open."

'Yeah, and wide open to enemy fire,' the Lieutenant thought. Saluting, he said, "You can count on us sir."

The Captain looked at the Lieutenant with dull eyes. Saluting back lazily, he said "Sure Lieutenant, sure." The Captain didn't even stand up as the Lieutenant left the room.


End file.
